Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tetanus Vaccination: Fact & Fiction

One topic that has frequently come up in the vaccine discussion is Tetanus. It appears that culturally, we are conditioned to fear Tetanus. Many parents express their fears about keeping their children vaccine free because, “what about Tetanus?”

When you think about it, using Tetanus to encourage vaccination is a great tactic. Everyone generally knows that Tetanus is ‘caught’ by a wound. And how many times does a child get a scrape, a puncture, a cut? Every child is bound to step on something or get poked by something. So the pressure to vaccinate is strong, right?

As with all of these issues, getting down to the facts will blow the smoke away. And with Tetanus, the facts are quite damning.

So what is Tetanus?

Tetanus is the name of a sickness you get when the bacterium Clostridium tetani enters your body and flourishes (with a life cycle). The emphasis should be on ‘flourishes’ because Clostridium tetani requires an anaerobic environment. What does this mean? It means for the bacterium to survive, it must be in an environment free of oxygen.

In other words, to get sick with Tetanus, you must get the Clostridium tetani into your body, such as through the infamous example of stepping on a nail. Then you must ensure that the wound does not get oxygenated (does not bleed and is not exposed to air) and you must ensure the bacterium multiplies enough to start a life cycle, because the toxins released when they die is what causes Tetanus symptoms.

Summary: Tetanus requires a wound that is deep enough and neglected enough to create an anaerobic environment so that the bacteria can flourish, die off and spread a toxin in the body. The incubation period is 3-21 days, the average being 8 days.

And what does it mean to ‘oxygenate’? It means to bleed. Blood is oxygenated by passing through the lungs and then flowing through the body to oxygenate all the tissues. That is how we live. We are oxygenated creatures. So if you step on a nail and you bleed, the Clostridium tetani cannot live. In other words, Tetanus is impossible to get if you are alive, pumping blood normally through your body and taking care of the wound.

Feel bamboozled yet?

But the truth is, people do report cases of Tetanus. Why is this? There are two main reasons:

Improper wound care. This is particularly seen around the world. For example, in Africa after the baby is born they pack dirt into the belly button after cutting the umbilical cord.

Diabetes or other circulatory disorders. Diabetes is a leading factor in the development of Tetanus because those with diabetes are more likely to have poor blood circulation and increased inflammation that prevents healthy wound healing. Combine this with the complications of suppressed immune systems in elderly populations and you have a double whammy. This is more about chronic illness in the elderly because it takes years for the body to break down capillaries to the point that a puncture wound in the foot or finger will not be oxygenated. The CDC admits this here:

“Reported tetanus is about 3 times more common in people with diabetes and fatalities are about 4 times more common.”

Is the vaccine the only way to protect my child?

Think about your feelings on this subject. Think about the messages you have received. What is a key point about Tetanus in our culture? The lack of choice. Whenever something is “your only option” it’s a pretty good indication that someone is lying to you. The parents I talk to feel that getting the vaccine is the ONLY option to protect their child from Tetanus. When a care provider tells you there are no options, this is a red flag and I encourage you to think about what it means when someone does this to you.

But I know there’s a question hanging in the back of your mind because you are a parent. I am a parent, too. I know that question all too intimately.

“But what if???”

IF for some reason you and your child's doctor assess a risk for Tetanus, you have the option of choosing a non-vaccine shot called Tetanus Immunoglobulin or TiG for short.

IMPORTANT: if you suspect Tetanus, make sure your child gets the TiG shot! Many doctors and nurses sadly are not informed on this issue. They will pressure you to give your child the vaccine instead. Even if you ask for the immunoglobulin, some medical employees might not know what this is or think you are mistaken and assume you want the vaccine. Sometimes they claim to have a "T" only vaccine, which is untrue.

This creates a dangerous situation because the vaccine will not take effect soon enough if your child was exposed to Tetanus, and even if the vaccine did take effect soon enough, vaccines don't work for everyone. Make sure you see the packaging and/or insert of the immunoglobulin shot to ensure it is the right medication.

Additionally, smaller hospitals and doctor offices might not stock the immunoglobulin, so it might be more efficient to call larger hospitals/pharmacies to make sure they have the shot available before driving around town.

The bottom line? Tetanus is difficult to contract and easy to cure. No vaccine required. Pretty sad isn’t it?

Here I want to quickly resolve another related myth. I often hear parents say that they took their child to the emergency room because he stepped on a rusty nail or scraped his hand on a rusty piece of metal. Doctors readily push this misconception as well and use the descriptive term "rusty" when talking about Tetanus or promoting the vaccine. After learning about how the illness is contracted, can you see the contradiction? Rust is the visible symptom of oxygenation. The tetani bacterium requires an anaerobic environment. I'm not saying there is absolutely no chance of contamination, but am just pointing out how people are conditioned to fear based on unscientific concepts about this topic.

To finish, below are various studies, concepts and articles on the vaccine and Tetanus. Now shake that Tetanus fear off your shoulders and dig into the research!

“Naturally Acquired Immunity to Tetanus Toxin in an Isolated Community
HAIM MATZKINt* AND SHARON REGEV”

“In Ethiopia, health services are
notoriously poor. It has been estimated that there is about
one physician per 100,000 people. The very small ancient
Jewish community in Ethiopia has suffered from prolonged
persecution and cultural isolation. This community has been
deprived of the poor health services in the country, and
according to our information, none of the subjects included
in our study had ever been attended by a physician, let alone
received any injections during their lifetimes.”

“Although only 30% exhibited more than the accepted
protective titer of 0.01 IU/ml (7), the percentage of those
considered protected was age dependent, increasing substantially
from 10% in the first decade to an average of 29% in the
11- to 60-year-old group to 63% in the group over 60 years of
age. Natural immunity to tetanus is gained, as in many other
diseases, through adequate, repeated, and prolonged antigenic
stimulation that sensitizes the immune system. The
opportunities for achieving immunity increase with age, and
this is well reflected in our data.”

“Minor injuries become major emergencies before you know it. With a diabetic foot, a wound as small as a blister from wearing a shoe that's too tight can cause a lot of damage. Diabetes decreases your blood flow, so your injuries are slow to heal. When your wound is not healing, it's at risk for infection. As a diabetic, your infections spread quickly.”

“(13%) of the 122 non-neonatal patients with supplemental data were reported to have received at least a primary series (i.e., three or more doses) of TT before onset of illness (Table_1), including two (40%) of the five non-neonatal patients aged less than 20 years. Three (60%) of the non-neonatal patients aged less than 20 years were unvaccinated because of their parents' religious objections. The fourth case occurred in a boy aged 14 years who was bitten by a dog and who had received his last dose 2 years previously. “

The CDC is telling us that of the KIDS who were reported to have Tetanus, two of them were vaccinated and three were vaccine free. ZERO died. Interestingly, supplemental data does not include any information about wound care.

“During 1998--2000, an average of 43 cases of tetanus was reported annually; the average annual incidence was 0.16 cases/million population. The highest average annual incidence of reported tetanus was among persons aged >60 years (0.35 cases/million population), persons of Hispanic ethnicity (0.37 cases/million population), and older adults known to have diabetes (0.70 cases/million population). Fifteen percent of the cases were among injection-drug users. The case-fatality ratio was 18% among 113 patients with known outcome; 75% of the deaths were among patients aged >60 years.”

In other words, the elderly over 60 years of age are more likely to contract Tetanus and more likely to die from the infection. This report leaves a lot to speculation as well...for example, were these elderly people refusing treatment? Were they living on their own and unable to seek medical attention? What was the wound and why wasn’t it treated? And why are we pushed to vaccinate for something that has an incidence rate of 0.16 per 1,000,000?

"Efficacy of the toxoid has NEVER BEEN STUDIED in a vaccine
trial. It can be inferred from protective antitoxin levels that
a complete tetanus toxoid series has a clinical efficacy of
virtually 100%; cases of tetanus occurring in fully immunized
persons whose last dose was within the last 10 years are
extremely rare. "

So they are saying that because Tetanus is rare in the vaccinated population, therefore the vaccine works, despite never studying it. Of course, this sounds good until you put the vaccine free population next to the vaccinated population. Tetanus is rare: period. All they are doing is making an unsubstantiated claim about vaccines.

Here's an interesting study:

Crone NE, Reder AT. Severe tetanus in immunized patients with high anti-tetanus titers. Neurology 1992;42:761-764.Article abstract: Severe (grade III) tetanus occurred in three immunized patients who had high serum levels of anti-tetanus antibody. The disease was fatal in one patient.One patient had been hyperimmunized to produce commercial tetanus immune globulin. Two patients had received immunizations one year before presentation.

Remember that these are only the reported reactions, which the FDA/CDC suspect to only approximate 10% of the total reactions, the rest of which go unreported due to misdiagnosis or unwillingness to report.

"Wounds that bleed will never result in tetanus because the tetanus bacillus is anaerobic. It is absolutely silly to vaccinate boys who cut their knees. The only reason behind that is money."--Dr Buchwald MD

67 comments:

I love this article, thanks for all the information...I am now at ease about larger wounds that are able to bleed! I am however still alittle concerned because of the one comment that mentions splinters as a source of tetanus, I have also found other info regarding kids needing tetanus boosters if they get a splinter, what is the truth in this! Please help!

The splinter concept remains somewhat of an urban legend. Of course, I welcome anyone with information to post citations of case studies where someone contracted Tetanus from a splinter wound.

Basically, the splinter would have to go below the upper dermis (come into contact with the circulatory system) while not allowing oxygenation. While I won't claim this is impossible; it's highly unlikely.

Furthermore, if a child does have a splinter, it's simple enough to remove the splinter and make it bleed and/or practice good hygiene.

Hydrogen peroxide is a good choice for this situation as it will oxygenate the area.

My boys (and I!) have had plenty of splinters in our time - even deep ones - and have need had tetanus shots for them. We are still fine. I also stepped on a rusty nail as a child and didn't have a tetanus shot and had no problems. What about dog bites? That seems to be one that people also get offered a tetanus shot for.

Tetanus shots are routinely recommended for animal bites, too. It is possible to contract Tetanus from an animal bite, albeit arguably less likely. It would also require the same factors: a deep puncture wound that cannot be oxygenated/does not bleed well and is not cared for correctly.

Here is a link talking about administering routine Tetanus shots based on previous dosages after a dog bite:

Why, oh why do hospitals insist one gets a "tetanus shot" AFTER the possibility of contracting Tetanus? Once you've stepped on the nail, it doesn't do much good to get the vax, does it? I mean, it's like getting the varicella vax after you find chicken pox spots, isn't it? Seems like the TiG should be the norm.

in my experience in germany and holland at least it's alays the passive/tig injection that you get in case of an injury. though last time i had one was before i had children and got interested so i din not as questions. that is what i always understood to be the case.as for splinters and such. i don't remember people being that worried just like i don't remember them being deadly afraid of measles let alone chickenpox.

This article is potentially dangerous, and can influence parents not to take precautions which could save their children's lives. Tetanus is caused by the toxin produced by Clostridium tetani, and as stated earlier in the comments, bleeding does not oxygenate the bacteria and kill it. In addition, Clostridium tetani can produce spores which protect the bacteria from oxygen until it has entered a wound and anoxic environment. http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/ClostridiumAlso, if you do not clear all the Clostridium tetani from a wound and later seal the wound with a bandage, that area is now aerobic and the bacteria can flourish. Finally, Clostridium tetani uses many systems to protect itself against oxidative stress (e.g. hydrogen peroxide, as you suggested). http://www.springerlink.com/content/7vmj6c65mpvcpac8/

I'm sorry, you must mean anaerobic? None of what you provided negates the information I posted. Tetanus remains an extremely rare condition in vaccinated and vaccine-free populations that can be further prevented by proper wound treatment. Additionally, post exposure concerns can be addressed with the use of the Tetanus immunoglobulin, an important fact that all parents deserve to know about as vaccination after exposure will not adequately protect the child.

Thank you so much for this post. I'm just starting to read through some of your blog, and I'm discovering a wealth of information! Not to sound ignorant, but I'm really grateful that there are people like you who do the research to help out those like me who are struggling to wade through the flood of (mis)information. As I've been rethinking the need for vaccinations, tetanus has been nagging me at the back of my mind, and after reading this I'm no longer worried. Thanks so much :)

i had a recent burn that got infected 3 days later. I hadn't relly though much of it and didn't immediateky care for it. i went to urgent care office in city when i saw swelling, was given keflex to take for a week (4 pills daily 250 mgs). doc suggested Tetnus shot. I declined and doc said antibiotics were more important anyway since as a child i had all boosters. I do not do vaccines at all anymore as an adult and i'm very involved in studing natural medicine and see natural practitioners, no medications not even asprin and live a very healthy life. a few days after my burn i had a little jaw twinge on one side and never thought of tetnus or knoew much about that particular disease. i did research online and all i found was horror stories that scared the living hell out of me. I ran to er and they said no way i have it as i would be in spasm. however what i read is that it comes about slowly and doesn't present itself until 3-21 days after exposure to the infection. anyway i've had on and off slight jaw acheyness, no spasms, fever, sweats, or high blood pressure, fast heartbeat etc. but after reading all of that i'm frantic despite that 3 docs say that i don't have it. i'm 58 non diabetic, live in a nyc (where tetnus is pretty much unheard of...and docs don't know much about it, which scares me more). now its about 8 days since i could have been exposed and i am still getting on and off jaw ache here and there mostly on one side (same as burn on hand). The wound is ust about healed but worried sick until about 21 days or more pass. I was wondering if i did have tetnus is it possible that i have a very mild case and my body is fighting it off naturally and thats why i have these minor symptoms in jaw? i'm curious and hoping thats possible as the body is a pretty amazing self protecting and wise machine.I'm curious if many people actually had tetnus and didn't know it and got through it. also fyi- ihave a chronic pain issue with flare ups that are undaignosed and i believe its from vaccines as a child S0 many pople are coming up with these autoimmune disorders it epidemic! think it might be from all those vacs given out when we boomers were kids. Thanks for listening. anf thanks for getting the other side and all this important info out to people! hoping i don't have tetnus!

I would contact a Nutrition Response Testing Practitioner at http://www.unsinc.info/locate-clinician.html. I think that will be your best bet of getting an idea of what is going on with your jaw pain. You may not figure things out right away but it will give you a decent idea.

in the post of the phd student. he is put through school to support the multi million dollar vaccination business it is sad to see that he is. my son will never have a vaccination period he is healthy and happier than vaccinated babies! he never crys for no reason or screams like vaccinated babys. there are articles from other smart doctors that dont vaccinate there kids for reasons of health risks. in one excerpt a doctor took his son of 2 and a half years to vaccinate himself. after the effect of one mmr shot his son lost more than half of his vocabulary and was diagnosed with autism!!!!! my two cousins in tennessee have not vaccinated there children and they are in perfect health and very intelligent too dont fall for the government and doctor tactics to make money off your child take a stand america. god bless. im going to leave you with a quote from thomas jefferson yes im a major patriot! "If the people let government decidewhat foods they eat and what medicines they take,their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."

Fibromyalgia seems more along the lines of an inflamed condition (autoimmune).

This author ties it together with Thyroid disease and CFS:http://thyroid.about.com/cs/fibromyalgiacfs/a/cfsfibrothyroid.htm

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome appears to be connected to a murine wasting virus. Scientists detected this in blood samples.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/727329

"Scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found murine leukemia virus (MLV)–related gene sequences in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and in some healthy blood donors."

It is not so clear-cut that it is an "inherited disease," rather, scientists notice that it tends to co-exist with other mood disorders such as depression, so by association they are thinking it might be inherited. No genetic markers have been discovered, even though there are genetic factors. As well there should be, since everything in life is genetic lol!

My daughter got a dog bite when she was 11 months old that required 6 stitches. I wasn't aware at the time that you can supposedly get Tetanus from animal bites. My mil and dr bullied me into getting the DTaP. I know I could have still said no, but with the time limit (I found out about acquiring Tetanus from bites the day before it would have been too late), I went to the dr's office for a shot. I was not very well informed and was hoping there was just a Tetanus shot, but my dr said there was no such thing that he was aware of and so my previously un-vax'd daughter received the DTaP vaccine. When I got home I did some research and found out about the Tetanus Immunoglobulin. I'm really mad at myself for not doing some research before going into that appointment. I could have possibly gotten the Tetanus Immunoglobulin for my daughter instead, which would have been a choice I would have been much, much more comfortable with. :(I regret getting her that vaccine, although thankfully, she has had no visible reactions from it.

Thanks a lot for this post! Last summer I was very scared bc my son scratched his leg with the tube of a hotel sofa bed, he bled and we were on a beach vacation, so there was sand and sea water in contact with his wound... He was ok, but now I think I didn't take proper care of the wound :S ... I am thankful he is healthy and vax free

A simple way to act promptly if you or your child got injured in a way that tetanos could be feard is to carry on with you the homeopathic remedy LEDUM PALUSTRE 15CH or 30CH which is THE remedy for injuries with a sharp object, needle, insect bites etc. especially if there is no bleeding. A quebequer veterinarian of the 19th century is well known to have saved many horses from tetanos with this remedy whenever they would accidently get injured with nails into their paws, otherwise they had to shot the horse down...

Okokok...first of all, as a society, we are not just told to fear tetanus--we are told to fear nearly EVERYTHING (vaccines included). If you don't believe me, listen to commercials once in a while. They preach fear (you don't have enough stuff, the right stuff, the best stuff...) in order to get you to buy their stuff.

Educating ourselves means to take away all of our prejudices in order to find truth. We must strip away what we have been told or want to believe in order to get a the truth. Otherwise, we'll only end up with a belief system that is comfortable to us, but that isn't factual. Fat lot of good that does us!

I am so glad we agree on this fear-based culture! :) Shining light on our fear-motivated culture of death has been my primary position since I started my advocacy on Facebook.

But then I was disappointed to see you post on the vaccine/autism argument. Dragging the poor, dead goat out to again beat it with clubs as if it will somehow tidy up all other discourse on this topic is tiring. Besides, I've already addressed it in micro-posts on my blog.

"That is completely untrue. There is no evidence, anywhere, that autism is caused by vaccines.”

First, lack of evidence is NOT the same as evidence of no harm.

But that logical construct aside, why do you think evidence does not exist of autistic symptoms being caused by vaccination? We know that 174 studies exist which study a particular vaccine or particular ingredient (e.g. Thimerosal) in relation to presentation of autistic symptoms. Of those 174 studies, only 58 of them were empirical. Of those 58, only 14 were offered as evidence AGAINST the autism/metal/vaccine link. (You know, the studies mentioned on the infamoushttp://www.fourteenstudies.org/, I’m sure you’ve read that site thoroughly).

Meanwhile, of those 58 studies, 43 of them offered evidence in SUPPORT of the theory. That translates to 74% of the studies supporting a link.

I just think that if we really, truly want to find a cause for autism, we need to think outside the box. Yes, Thimerosal is bad, but people figured that out years ago and have taken that out of the vaccines that the kiddies are getting these days. It's easy to point a finger at vaccinations, but there are so sooooo many variables out there to take into consideration when looking for a cause. I'm not saying we should all go get vaccinations for jollies, but I AM saying that I feel like they're a red herring in the "cause for autism" debate.

To answer your question, I didn't say (nor will I) that evidence does not exist that supports a connection between autism and vaccinations. I WILL say there are so, so, sooooo many variables in the life of each child that is diagnosed with autism that it becomes extremely difficult for scientists to determine what is a causal relationship and what is correlation relationship. I would be interested to learn about those 58 studies you mentioned.

And no, I haven't read that site thoroughly. It isn't scholarly, thus not worth my time.

And you're right. There are many, many variables surrounding an autism diagnosis.

You imply that www.14studies.org is not scholarly, are you referring to the 14 studies they break down on the site, or just the site's existence itself? I'm curious, have you disseminated those 14 studies and read them in their entirety?

How is it that you seem to have your mind made up on this issue, and did not even know about the 58 studies (or presumably, all 170+)?

Even the CDC admits we have a LOT to do in this topic before prematurely ruling out vaccinations:

“…this VSD study will be the first rigorous, epidemiological study conducted on the issue of thimerosal and autism.”

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Activities/vsd/priority_studies.html

I hope you take a moment to consider the CDC's words on this issue, even if they aren't scholarly enough for you.

The only thing I've made my mind up about is to keep search and keep learning. Which is why I asked if you could share the sources of those 58 studies. "58 studies" is, after all, a pretty generic wording, and I was just curious what you were referencing as I have read several studies conducted by several groups both in the US and overseas.

I don't have a problem with the actual 14 studies, but what I DO have a problem with is the site itself, which set out its' agenda clearly on the homepage by listing various facts in a less-than-honest way, thus compelling its' perusers to feel more emotionally in agreement with what they say as opposed to letting the studies speak for themselves. That's when the site becomes a sales-pitch instead of an approachable venue for information. For example, they said that autism has increased 90 fold since the 80's, which is true, but only partially. There may very well have been as many instances of autism in the 80's than we're aware of, but our abilities to diagnose the disability has become so acute recently that those numbers have sky-rocketed by comparison. But that web-site just lopped off that part of the topic and only left in the part that made their site more compelling.

For readers of this blog or of ANY information regarding this, we must all remember that WHERE we get our information from is just as important as getting the information itself.

I guess, just for a change, I'd like to see more people/ organizations putting out free information (it's rough having to pay to see some of those studies--they can be around 30 bucks a copy!) without pandering to readers by saying "x is the cause of this problem" or "y isn't really at the root of anything." It'd be downright refreshing to be given information, just simple, sweet information so that we can all use it an the intelligence we are graced with in order to make informed decisions so that we can move on with our lives.

...Which is why I wanted to know which 58 studies you were referring to. I'd still be happy to learn if you're willing to share!

I just find it interesting that you are implying you can disseminate medical literature, and only read "scholarly" articles, but you're asking me for a magical link to 58 studies. Do you not have access to medical journals?

I'm glad you're interested in learning more. I try to tell myself: learn something new everyday. It keeps me looking forward to new things in life.

For example:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090108095429.htm

" study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted — and the trend shows no sign of abating."

I don't believe I said anything about a "magical link" to anything...let me check. No, I didn't mention that at all. Nor did I mention any internet link at all. A simple citation would suffice. If you can't, that's fine. But if you're going to use them as a strong part of your argument, it wouldn't hurt your credibility to at least give a nod to which ones you're citing. Because there are more than 58 studies. There are more than 170. I'm sure that there are more than we're aware of.

And we were talking previously about diagnosing autism affecting statistics from the 80's, not from the 90's. Big difference. Huge. Not to mention, whoever wrote that article you posted happened to brush off 24% as being a relatively small percentage. I don't know about you, but if my employer decided to shave off 24% of my income, I wouldn't call that small. If the the people at my local coffee spot only only filled my latte 76% full, you can bet I'd notice.

It seems to me that for every link that you post for your beliefs, it's pretty easy to find one that's its' antithesis. It just goes to show that we're still searching. During our search for the truth, we should put aside all pretense of knowledge and every shred of personal bias for the sake of coming to the correct conclusion lest we cause ourselves to stumble onto a comfortable, safe, or more palatable version which coincides with our existing prejudices.

I'm just trying to help people to open their mind's a little bit here, that's all. The most important thing is to just keep learning, just keep learning, just keep learning...and it's downright difficult to help a person learn something when they feel as if they already know the answer. Because the honest-to-goodness truth in this matter is this: nobody knows the answer. Yet ;)

The way you asked it, implied a certain level of misgiving about the way papers are published. Do you have access to medical journals or not?

Are you trying to dismiss the link I posted from sciencedaily.com? I wasn't talking about the 80s.

I don't deal with beliefs. I deal with science and biology. So it's pretty easy for me to see it in this issue. The physiology of the body is violated and broken down by vaccine theory. Instead of working with the body, vaccinations overcome the body.

Vaccine theory is the addition, not the norm. Until it is scientifically studied as whole (not just one vaccine or one ingredient in shoddy epidemiological studies) it will remain the unproven belief. The bias is in doing something without the proof and without the adequate understanding of the body.

Thank you Sarah for pointing this out. Far too simplified, this article is dangerously misleading. The author is not readily giving up her sources, and instead encouraging you to go hunt for them yourself. Red flag. She has carefully selected portions to quote, strengthening a weak argument. Vaccines save lives. Thousands, millions of lives and though we are very lucky to live in the world we do today, we have taken for granted that vaccines have kept us protected thus far. We have forgotten what these terrible infections and diseases do to the human body and to entire populations. Doctors are not to be dismissed. They are the ones who have seen what these infections and diseases are capable of -- and that is why they insist they are necessary. It is irresponsible to write this kind of article without properly addressing all sides or even including all facts put for in a study. It causes hysteria and ignorant following of those who do not understand the science. Do your research. Acknowledge all sides of the truth. Please stop encouraging paranoia -- it is much more exciting to believe in conspiracy theories than to do proper, extensive research in peer-reviewed journals. But if you REALLY want to know the truth, get a balanced view by researching all sides with an open mind.

Castor oil is a natural remedy that can be used to clean out a wound and prevent tetanus. When a wound is sustained, a cotton ball dunked in castor oil should be placed on the wound, and then fixed on the wound with a bandage. Castor oil has tremendous drawing power and can pull out rust and other infectious agents. The dressing should be changed every two hours the first day of treatment and twice a day for the next three days.

To get tetanus from a splinter? Is this a joke? I am central European, living in Holland, walk barefoot a lot, have vegetable garden and renovate own house. Splinters are my life! To get sick from one? This is a joke, isn't it?

It is a NBC news story of a Florida woman contracting tetanus from a palm sliver.

I am parent of a child that had a fibral seizure within hours after her 1st MMR shot. We asked our doctor if there was a causal relationship between the 2 events. He basically dismissed this idea. My daughter had another fibral seizure after the 2nd round of MMR vaccination and the doctor again dismissed any correlation. It was then that we did our own research on vaccinations and the trove of information about them was astounding. The medical society does not tell you that not only can your child get the disease the vaccination is meant to protect them from but may also die from those same "safe" vaccinations. Parents should be provided the complete information concerning vaccinations for their children.

We stopped vaccinating our child and subsequent children after those 2 incidents. My eldest daughter having received the first round of vaccinations until age 18 months unfortunately seems slightly mentally impaired compared to the rest of my children. O course this is not empirical but it does make me heart sick that I may not have done my due diligence concerning her care. From now on I question everything and have found the "key" words to ask any care giver... " What are the contraindications for the drug or medical care you are providing."

My family is part of a homeschool group and the percentage of mentally and emotionally impaired children in the small group is mind boggling. Many have varying degrees of autism.

As in all things we have to make informed decisions for us and our children and more open and honest information is needed.

Thanks for providing us the ability to make better decisions based on the information you provide.

Yes, you can get sick from a splinter. It isn't common, and as was said above, it would have to get into the blood stream or pierce deep enough into the skin to infect surrounding tissues, but it definitely can make you sick. Not commonly from tetanus, but MRSA has become much more prevalent and is a very real risk. (no vaccine for that one, however)

As far as tetanus and vaccines, I am all for selectively delaying, but I find it incredibly naive and downright dangerous to advocate against a tetanus vaccine completely.

As far as the autism/vaccine dead horse, my personal theory is that there is no "cause" of autism. It just is. Illness can trigger it (like the illnesses experienced by some children after vaccination, high fever, etc) but that isn't a cause, it's just that one thing that happened to trigger it. If vaccines caused autism, there would be no autistic children in the unvaccinated population, and there are. I don't know if it's because of environmental toxins or what, personally I am prone to think that autism is actually part of our evolutionary process, and that humans are on the verge of reaching another level of neurological development.

I am a little surprised at how many people have chosen to comment FOR this and make themselves look silly with rampant grammatical errors and misspellings. It certainly doesn't help the non-vaccinating community if people portray themselves as ignorant or as sheep just following the herd.

After many months of research, I do not vaccinate my children. But had thought Tetanus would be the ONLY one we "needed" to do and figured I would take care of it on an "as needed" basis. I will now be conducting a more thorough investigation into this matter. I don't want my children exposed to the toxins in vaccines, period. I was injured a few weeks ago and received a tetanus shot in the ER, now I feel rather stupid for doing this. But the fear of the disease and the push from the staff decided for me. Interestingly, my wound had bled for nearly 20min under the faucet. So I was in no danger from Tetanus at all. However, the ER staff didn't seem to think this 20min cleansing was sufficient. I am definitely concerned that medical staff knows nothing about diseases, how they are passed and how they are accurately treated. Disturbing for sure.

Like I previously stated, this article has certainly jump started my brain and I plan to investigate this further. I have always felt one should only make informed decisions when dealing with the health of their children. Thank you for being so well informed and articulate.

I could pick this article apart but the poster obviously is not interested in the truth. And, the individuals looking for medical advice on a blog do not display much wisdom. Please people, before you take advice from a complete stranger who probably has no medical training whatsoever, please check the facts yourself. Here is the REST of the abstract of ONE of the articles she carefully left out: "The course of tetanus in immunized patients is atypical and often benign, but the diagnosis is problematic--in contrast to affected children in developing countries, whose populations are not adequately immunized and where neonatal tetanus is common and often fatal." This was all she had printed:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8335151?dopt=AbstractPlus"Five children aged five to 15 years contracted tetanus in Finland between 1969 and 1985, together with 101 adults. Four of the five had been adequately immunized against tetanus."

On the contrary, I would love for you to disseminate the research and points in this post and provide your insight.

For example, can you start by explaining why highlighting one quote, with a link so others can read the rest for themselves, is somehow withholding facts?

I provided the link b/c I expect others to "check the facts" as you say.

The facts do speak for themselves quite plainly here. Post-exposure vaccination is too late for any protective measurement. If tetanus is expected and proper wound management does not appear to suffice, then the correct medical care is the administration of the tetanus immunoglobulin. To offer the vaccine and not mention Tig is medical malpractice.

Fibromyalgia has actually been linked to Lyme's disease - many doctors are ill-informed about Lyme's disease; it is a very complicated disease that many people have been exposed to without even realizing it and left in the system, it generates a plethora of lifetime illness. In the majority of cases, Lyme's tests come back negative despite it being in the system. I would urge anyone with fibromyalgia to investigate with a specialist the possibility of Lyme's Disease

"The existence of natural immunization was unquestionably demonstrated by presence of protective levels of tetanus antitoxin in the blood of the majority of 59 surveyed subjects considering that none of them had ever received any tetanus toxoid and most of them never received a single shot of any drug. The results of this survey originated a few arguments that may support the answer to some still intriguing phenomenona such as: 1. The relatively small number of cases of overt disease among people and animals born and living in large tetanus-risk regions all over the world."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC261948/?tool=pubmed

"Among 48 adults without a history of tetanus immunization, we found with the aid of indirect hemagglutination test 20 individuals with protective tetanus antibody titers, 23 with low levels of antitoxin (under 0,1 I.U./ml) and 5 devoid of tetanus antitoxin. In two blood samples of 99 unvaccinated children under 3 years of age (taken at 7 months intervall) 12,1% showed tetanus antitoxin in the first serum sample and 16,2% in the second sample. Protective antibody titers could be found only in 4 children in each of the first and second serum sample. The data suggest a silent oral immunization by tetanus bacilli thus boosting under unhygienic conditions the tetanus immunity with advancing age."

"A serologic survey using a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay confirmed the anticipated finding of naturally acquired antibodies to tetanus toxin both in humans and animals on the Galápagos Islands. In 57 inhabitants (mean age, 31.3 years) who had not been vaccinated against tetanus, antibody to tetanus toxin was detected in the blood in varying titers"

"Naturally acquired antitoxin in Indians is probably the result of chronic clostridial contamination of the small bowel. This contamination can induce immune tolerance in the gut and systemically and may be the reason for the poor responses to vaccination in all except infants."

Thank you Guggie for the wealth of info in your article as well as in the comments. As an autism mom who decided to forgo any additional vaccines after my autistic child turned 5 (she did not get MMR booster etc) I find it interesting how people can argue that vaccination is effective and OK despite all the nasty poisonous chems that make up the cocktails and the non-existent safety studies on multiple dosed vaccine shots (according to the current U.S. vaccine schedule). You don't have to be a rocket scientist, be one of the distinguished few who can read scientific studies or have Dr. before your name to realize something is dreadfully wrong. With the legal permission by Gov't for vaccine producers to make and sell vaccines "free from the threat from possible lawsuits" and the Gov't, the AAP, the AMA, etc endorsing and even mandating vaccination ... it is not hard to see a correlation in the rise of autism right along with the rise (trippling !) of the vaccine schedule. Is that solid evidence ? Maybe not ... but it's a pretty good start in the "right" direction ;)Thanks again Guggie !~ Cara

This medication is given to provide protection (immunity) against tetanus (lockjaw) in adults and children 7 years or older. Vaccination is the best way to protect against this life-threatening disease. Vaccines work by causing the body to produce its own protection (antibodies). Tetanus vaccine is usually first given to infants with 2 other vaccines for diphtheria and whooping cough (pertussis) in a series of 3 injections.Regards,Jac@Jakarta Hotel

I had an ER experience today with my child who sustained a deep wound. In the ER it was carefully irrigated and stitched up. The PA was not happy when I said my child was not up to date on vaccines. In fact, I admitted he was not vaccinated for anything. ever. The PA's response was that my child should get the tetanus immunoglobulin shot. I had never heard of it. After reading the literature the PA gave me I agreed to the immunogloblin shot for my child and refused the tetanus vaccine. I was told I would have to sign a form that I was refusing medical advice, but after the tetanus immunoglobulin shot that paper never appeared. I am thankful that the PA even brought up the immunoglobulin. There is hope!

I fully support all you've said here, and backed it up with my own children's experiences in the ER (including once when I brought the child solely b/c I wasn't totally confidant I could properly clean the wound, and ... THEY STAPLED IT UP WITHOUT CLEANING IT AT ALL!!! Their strategy was to staple & vaccinate, with no wound care at all...) - but I believe your logic with respect to rusty nails may be faulty.

Rust is indeed the "symptom" of oxygenation, but it does not imply that free oxygen (available to mix chemically with anything else) is available. The oxygen has already bound with the nail and rusted it, and without reviewing my many years of chemistry that I had even more years ago, I wouldn't be confident in stating that there is any oxygen available to prevent tetanus. That just doesn't sound right to me.

OTOH, I never figured out the obsession with rust in tetanus. Nails are dangerous because they create puncture wounds (hard to get oxygen to from the outside air), not because of rust, so far as I can tell. Tetanus comes from the dirt, and is prevalent in it (so does polio, and our 20th century hyper-cleanliness obsession is strongly suspected by researchers to be the reasons why these diseases became more prevalent in that same century, although tetanus was never as common as polio). Any danger comes not from rust, but from the dirt the nail was in. If it was stored in a basement for years before being stepped on, this is not a tetanus danger.

I have had tetanus...I don't know what I was given to cure it, initially I was given a tetanus shot the first visit, day 2(after cat scratch), to the ER, day 3 I was admitted and on a drip. The thing I found so scary about tetanus, was that for me it travelled so fast, one more day and it very possibly would have caused my heart to go into fibrillation...But then I don't know this...I hadn't been vaccinated for about 12 years, and I haven't been vaccinated since, but in saying that, I now know exactly what symptoms to identify. I would not ever presume my children would or could communicate them to me, so until then, I think I'll vaccinate against tetanus.

I just gotta say.....I have had 3 kids who are all grown now and 4 grandkids....and I had all my kids vaccinated and grandkids.....I actually dont know anyone who DOESN'T get their children vaccinated and EVEYONE OF THEM are healthy. I don't take a lot of stock in percentage rates or polls and such....who is to say the ones that get autism wouldn't have gotten it anyways....I see more good than I do bad from being vaccinated....there probably are cases of people having adverse reactions, as there is with any medicine (I am allergic to several antibiotics, but not everyone is)and yet it has been proven to be a wonderful medicine for many different things. So I don't think you can just automatically say all vaccines are bad....I wouldn't have my kids without them.

hi. im glad i found this site.. i got punctured by a rusty nail last april 27, at about 7pm. i went to the health center by tues, april 30, and the doc gave me TT. now, 3weeks after, my left side of the chest aches whenever i cough or take a deep breath, sometimes, my neck and back aches a little.. is it possible that it's tetanus??

Thanks for the information. I'll be doing some more research on the topic.

I'm just wondering about oyster cuts. It seems to be a big concern in relation to tetanus, perhaps because a lot of the time part of the shell gets embedded in the wound. Do you know of any information relating to this particular scenario?

circumcision for women never, for boys probably no real benefit for themselves personally although it has helped in avoiding infection. The real benefit is in the far less incidence of the female partner getting cancer of the cervix. I forget what the percentage the research showed (it has been many years since I looked at the stats), but it was about twice or more possible incidence.Hope that helps.Jam

Seriously just get the vaccine and clean your wounds. I don't think ppl should advise parents not to vaccinate their kids when as far as I am concerned you are no more credible to me than the people who say that all of the cases of tetanus occur in unvaccinated children and that the vaccine is 100 per cent effective. This is the thing...doctors are not out to get our kids. They care about children, and I doubt most of them would want to do anything dangerous to our children for the sake of profit. It is not like they are salesmen. It is up to parents to research each vaccine and discuss their concerns with an open minded dr who can help them shuffle through everything. I am blessed to have this dr for my kid. I think you would be sorry if some parent followed your advice instead of the advice of a professional. I have researched the tetanus issue and read a very sad story about an unvaccinated child in America (not Africa) whose parents were apparently very careful about cleaning his wounds. He suffered the horrible pain of tetanus and was debilitated for a year. And to anti-vaccine folks, this is a testimony of success. He survived? Our only goal is for our childreb to survive. Nevermind the trauma of not being able to open your mouth and having to relearn how to walk and eat. There are too many ppl who get the tetanus vaccine all the time. It cannot be doing any more harm than the things we do every day that yes...eventually kill us at 100 years old but at least give us more sanity for the short time we are here on earth.

Thanks for an informative, detailed and great read. My son (who is 13 and unvaccinated) fell of his bike today and scarped himself and cut his lip open. His okay, but in the Medical Center they suggested giving him a tetanus shot, which I declined. Luckily i live in an area where saying no to vaccines is reasonably acceptable, so I was just told "it's just what we recommend" and then they left it up to me. He's fine. A bit bruised and sore, but fine. Imagine if I fell for this and allowed all these toxins to be put into his body. For nothing. This blog put my tiny tiny bit of doubt at peace...

Thanks for your post. We live in an undeveloped country where rusty nails abound. My three unvaccinated children go nearly everywhere barefoot, and are constantly getting cuts and wounds (including several caused by old nails). I always clean with hydrogen peroxide. I did this intuitively, but after reading your article I realize why I've had 100% success rate so far, with zero complications.

This is silly. A child can develop autism from genetics. MANY things can be factored into autism being more prevalent, including the fact that 'slow' children are now considered high functioning autistic. I have vaccinated all my children and they are all fine. Do some REAL research people! Vaccines save lives!!! DONT GAMBLE WITH YOUR CHILDRENS LIVES!

How Stupid is blogspot.com!! I just tried to comment. Instead of registering my comment, it put my name on the comment above mine. I had to delete that comment, because blogspot associated it with my name when it was not my comment. My apology to the previous commenter. And I am not rewriting my comment.

I see some commenters saying this is oversimplified but I found it a usefull clarification of the (too-simple, too-general IMHO) checklists I found on the first 7 websites I looked at regarding whether or not a tetanus shot is urgently necessary. Most sites I looked at advise Tdap boosters for any wound from a dirty or rusty source if its been over 10 years since the last tetnus shot. (in the interest of better safe than sorry, which i understand) In my case, it's been over 15 years and I have a shallow cut from a rusty razor blade. Childhood experience gave me the impression that rust was somehow inextricably linked to tetanus and none of the specifically heath/medical oriented sites that were higher in my search results gave me the info I needed to use my own discretion instead of obeying the one-size-fits all checklist. Now I confidentally avoid can avoid the hassle of getting squeezed in for an appt so I have to wait a tleast an hours, surrounded by really sick people, not to mention the combined loss of $ from co-pay and missed work time because:1. Wound is clean and shallow2. It bled ALOT initially and then bled some more several hours later when I changed bandaids.3. It doesn't hurt a bit 12 hours later, even if I press on it thru the bandaid. That's usually my litmus for "healing just fine", were it not for the irrational rust=lockjaw fear I had.